S. M. Strikers is indeed a very original game like other Mario sports titles, but is however ruined by its repetetivness
The gameplay is probably the one thing that makes it fun and ruins it at the same time. At first you will experience something that you have never seen or played before. The gameplay is very fast paced and great to look at. Every goal is better than the last. You usually end up shooting the ball right into the corner of the goal and after about 30-40 minutes you will have learned how to use the special moves. The special moves are pretty much only useful when you are playing against someone who has never played before and doesn't know how to tackle correctly, or when playing against the computer in the beginning cups. As soon as you unlock the secret team, the cups get harder and the enemies will never give you a chance to use your specials. The specials always give you two goals at once and are great to look at. I will not explain how exactly the special system works in detail, but there are two types. If you execute the worse type of special correctly, the ball will be shot with fire or hearts (Peach :P) into the corner of the goal and the goalie will never get it. The better special is the funnier one. It starts off slow motion and the goalie does sometimes get your shot, but the shot is so powerfull that it slams him into the goal. Just like in all Mario sports games the did a good job making the specials, but in this one they fail to allow you to use them later on when it gets more difficult. Of course there are items that you can use. Like shells or banana peels, the usual stuff. These items will usually save you from getting scored on if you just hit the player over with a shell or something before he gets a chance to shoot. These specials will also be your only ticket to using specials later on. You will have to stun your enemies or freeze them just to be able to execute a special. The problem with this games gameplay is, that it is just too repetitive and eventually becomes too frustrating and boring if you are not a complete adict over a longer period of time. It's always the same opponents over and over again and the same gameplay. If you have ever played other soccer games like the Winning Eleven series or the Pro Evolution series (same thing really), then you will know what the difference is. In those games, no two games or goals are ever the same.
The graphics are nothing spectacular but they are just right. They are no different than the ones found in Mario Tennis or the other Mario sports titles for the Game Cube. The effects of the special moves are mainly the graphical things that will grab your attention at first. The animations are very comical just like in other Mario games and some of the scenarios will seem kind of childish and just too cute or it just might seem like the creators overdid it. The stadiums are more or less the most interesting things to look at in this game. There aren't many stadiums, but unlocking them is very well worth it. Donkey Kong's stadium for example is this jungle stadium with a wooden pitch and the goals are made of trees. The stadiums are probably my personal favorite of the game.
What can be said about the sounds? Well, if you have played Mario sports games before, then they will be nothing new to you. Mario and the gang all sound the same as they did in the other games and don't get me wrong here. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing, it's just been done and I'm glad they kept them that way instead of trying something new that might have failed. The crowd chants and roars when you score a goal are outstanding, but I was always a little annoyed by this voice saying "GOOOAAALL" in the background when you score. And then of course the goal scoring character will do some kind of celebration dance which is usually pretty fruity. The sounds are not the problem with this games repetitiveness, you get used to them and you wont be annoyed by them either.
This games multiplayer is nothing that we haven't seen before. It's basically like the singleplayer but with your friends as opponents. You can play tournaments together and if you are both good at the game, have a very hard time scoring and executing specials.
All in all this game is not exactly what I would call a success for Nintendo's Mario Sports series. I suggest you rent the game before you buy it, that is, if you still want to buy it after playing it for a few days or a week. It's cool for the first few days and then it's entertainment value just sinks down form 100 to a number identical to your shoe size. Rent it, I guarantee you it will be fun a first, but if you really want to buy it, think about it and take repetitive gameplay into consideration.